Neighborhood is a key context where children learn to process social information; however, the field has largely overlooked the ways children's individual characteristics might be moderated by neighborhood effects. We examined 1,030 six- to 11-year-olds (48.7% female; 82% White) twin pairs oversampled for neighborhood disadvantage from the Twin…

Educators, policymakers, and the general public agree that social skills should be taught to children. In an effort to bridge this gap between evidence-based social skills training and populations in need, the authors have developed an Intelligent Social Tutoring System (ISTS) that fosters learning through adaptive interaction between the student…

The key features of Asperger Syndrome (AS) and high functioning autism (HFA) include marked and sustained impairment in social interactions. A multi-session, small group program was developed to increase social perception based on the assumption perceptual or interpretive problems underlying these social difficulties. Additionally, the group…

The process of creating child-developed board games in a counseling setting may promote social, emotional, and behavioral development in children. Using this creative approach, counselors can actively work with children to address referred concerns and build skills that may generalize outside of counseling sessions. A description of the method is…

While both positive and negative peer interactions have long been a focus of scientific interest, much less attention has been given to children who tend to refrain from interacting with peers. This volume brings together leading authorities to review progress in understanding the development, causes, and consequences of shyness and social…

Compares story character judgments of elementary school children to determine whether they would (1) attribute greater social anxiety to characters more motivated to create a desired impression on audience but were doubtful of ability to do so; (2) associate greater social anxiety with behaviors likely to impede behavioral performance; and (3)…

Examination of 53 children with autism supported the validity of the subtypes "aloof" and "active-but-odd" as predictors of behavior across language/communication, reciprocal social interaction, and stereotyped behavior/restricted interest domains. Partial support for an intermediate, "passive" subtype was garnered. (Author/JDD)

Examined early adolescents' self-esteem and perceived competence in the cognitive, social, and physical domains. Self-esteem, perceived social and physical competence, and cognitive competence were either stable or increased for most children. Concluded that early adolescents' perceptions of self-esteem and competence are not adversely affected by…

This study compared the adaptive behaviors of 20 autistic, 20 Down's syndrome, and 20 normal children matched on age equivalent adaptive behavior, gender, race, birth order, family size, and socioeconomic status. The autistic children displayed significant and pervasive deficits in the acquisition of adaptive social skills and greater variability…

Describes the characteristics of play and its contributions to development, and proposes fundamental principles and practices for its encouragement. Delineates the necessity of play and affirms its centrality in the lives of all children. Stresses both teacher and parental roles in providing a safe and calalytic play environment. (Author/RWB)

This outline presents a program designed to teach children "how" to think, not what to think--so as to help them solve typical interpersonal problems with peers and adults. Through games, stories, puppets, illustrations, and role plays, children learn a pre-problem solving vocabulary, feeling word concepts, and ways to arrive at solutions to…

This selective bibliography contains references to 255 ERIC documents from "Research in Education (RIE)," and "Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE)," January 1970 - March 1974, related to social development and behavior in children. Topics include peer relationships, interpersonal competence, social attitudes, socialization and…

Examined the role of pretend play interactions in stimulating social and emotional competence by comparing the quality of pretend and nonpretend social play. Found that pretend play involved more complex, mutually responsive, and emotionally invested social interaction than nonpretend play. Expression of psychosocial issues within pretense was…

Intended for use by parents of learning-disabled children, this curriculum was developed in response to a needs assessment completed by parents. Presented in a workbook format, each chapter offers guidelines and specific activities to encourage parents to identify specific social skills problem areas and to plan change strategies. Chapter 1…

During the first months after birth, a child's functions begin to emerge. By age three a child is expected to have mastered the basic tasks of (1) good vegetative functioning (management of drives and impulses involved in eating and elimination), (2) perceptual organization and familiarization with the home environment and skills to orient to a…